I am particularly struck by this display because during my graduation ceremony (a second degree earned late in life), the entire first half hour was completely patrio-militarized (marching, color guard, pledge of allegiance, national anthem, honoring the troops, blah, blah). This was not the case when I earned my first degree. We sang the school song and the band played “Pomp and Circumstance” as we marched out.

Hard to miss that it is war, hung from our necks like a heavy stone and meant to force our drowning…

********************************************

This via the email… Family Research Council on Reid… who really and truly is a friend of theirs. But, imo, occasionally pops off a comment meant to grease the skids for the hapless rank and file, the so called “base”…

Yesterday, we reported that the self-proclaimed “pro-lifer,” Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a seven-time supporter of the partial-birth abortion ban, made disparaging comments about the Court–and specifically Justice Samuel Alito–after the ruling.

While his office is desperately trying to clarify the statements, the full transcript of Reid’s remarks makes his disapproval quite clear. “I would say… this isn’t the only decision a lot of us wish Alito weren’t there and O’Connor was.” CBN reporter David Brody writes that Reid’s spokesman sent a statement to justify the comment.

“Senator Reid opposes abortion except in the cases of rape, incest, and when the life of the mother is at risk. Consistent with this position, Senator Reid supported the Partial-Birth Abortion (PBA) Ban and supports the Supreme Court’s decision yesterday. However, Senator Reid continues to disagree with Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito on many issues and that is why he opposed their confirmation.”

In other words, Reid’s office is saying that Alito may be wrong on some issues, but not this one. [snip]

Reid: The mouth that runs. The lips that move, the lies that travel. So beloved by the Blahgs. And notice, no exception for health of the mother, supports the ruling. Which we all knew…

Not to brag, but I got 100% on this Pew quiz, which only put me in the 96th percentile. Seriously, I’m worried about the state of affairs in the nation if the quiz results published are truly representative of general knowledge.

Elsewhere on the site is a report that liberals represent 17% of the population and 19% of voters. Conservative Democrats are 14% of the population and 15% of voters. Now why is it again that liberals are treated as the red-headed stepchildren?

WARNING, respectful dissent re Dk is now “cyber stalking”. They’ve adopted all the plays from the Republican game book, including exploitation of current events for hysterical self-serving purposes. Either you’re with us or you’re a mad gunman.

Seriously the article is a mix of camp and high anxiety. All about missile shields and IRan and protecting Europe and Poland with the MIssile Shield (what does the Vatican say? Doesn’t that sound … prophylactic? a t the least… ???)

He also goes to the czech Republic and Rome. PLEASE someone, keep him.

Then in 1999 Karl Rove reached out to GE Chairman and CEO Jack Welch, promising radical deregulation for the broadcast industry (GE is the parent company of NBC). This fit right in with some of Welch’s thoughts and ambitions. He had long felt that the news division at NBC wasn’t living up to its full profit potential.

According to a a must-read article, “The Media Cover-up of the Gore Victory Part Four: Democracy, General Electric Style,” by David Podvin and Carolyn Kay, that conversation led to some important changes: [snip]

Yeah, Harry “WetNoodle” Reid personally opposed Alito and Roberts but couldn’t be bothered to enforce party discipline and didn’t have the spine for a filibuster. Hell, Roberts was confirmed 78-22. What a bad fucking joke Reid is.

Yeah, Harry “WetNoodle” Reid personally opposed Alito and Roberts but couldn’t be bothered to enforce party discipline and didn’t have the spine for a filibuster.

I don’t believe it’s a matter of lack of spine, it’s quite possible that Harry Reid has more in common with the Casey Jr., Scalia and Thomas than the women whose money he takes. That’s where the actual evidence leads.

I don’t mean to say that I believe Reid is a courageous man or an honest one. Just that he’s example number 5 on a long, long list of why I don’t vote or volunteer for Democrats anymore.

Can’t say that MO is much better outside the Lou and KC metro areas. So much of the state is rural and ultraconservative, they don’t much care what happens to people poorer than themselves. Unless they’re kin or fellow churchgoers, of course. Saint Louis, 1/4 of Missouri’s population and 1/3 of Missouri’s tax base. We need to become our own state, damnit!

Like Fahey, Breadfoot blends 19th century folk, old-time country and delta blues influences but resists any impulse to be bound by the traditional constraints of any of those idioms. What results is equal parts great Sunday afternoon album and passout record: it’ll get
you going as well as it gets you down for the night.

The opening track, A Hard Day in Manhattan wanders
along with an understatement that would do Fahey
proud, an exercise in subtlety and dynamics. It’s all melody, no garish flourishes or ostentation.

Well I failed miserably. Gabby “Line in the Sand” Giffords, my congressional”representative”, was at the Folklorico benefit tonight and I didn’t get to give her a piece of my mind. She even used my PA to spew a few platitudes about the “good work” of Folklorico, a Mexican traditonal dance/music company among the well heeled crowd (150$ US a plate, open bar of course). I had my moment, but I just said, “use this mike.” Despite my heavy indulgence in the Don Julio anejo (aaaay, que bondad!) I didn’t want to make a scene. I said to myself, “weel, I’ll approach her in private…I’m just a guest here and my friend would be embarassed.” Somehow after the grass feed organic steaks were served (eschewing dead flesh, I drank more instead), perhaps because of the tequila distracted me, she disappeared. The irony of it all is that the Border Patrol Checkpoint rail against so often, and which she is about to help make permanent, is literaly at the gates to the ranch that hosted the barbacoa.

I swear if I had my way Ms. Giffords would have had to listen to me for a few minutes at least and I would ask her how dare she.
How dare she come say she supports the Mexican heritage of our land?
How dare she proclaim her allegiance to her deep roots here, and then betray them for the D.C. version of the “Jet Set”?
How dare she show her face on this ranch that is over run with pinche migra?
Maybe next time…this is a tiny county and for some reason our paths keep crossing; believe it or not last week she landed in a big helo at the reten last week as I was driving thru. She’s gonna here what this Arizona boy has got to say, and I ain’t about to play country club like all the brahmins there tonight.

Can she honestly say she still LIVES there? I suppose has a condo or a familial residence she uses… but iirc she married some other freshman rep, from a you know NORTHERN EASTERN state. Antother damned Bloooooooooooo Dog, iirc.

Little sell out. Frankly the US Chamber of Commerce is calling the shots. They channel thru Di Fi and all the rest.

“What’s more, Congress appears poised to vote on a resolution urging the president to say the words “Armenian genocide” when observing the awkwardly named “National Day of Remembrance of Man’s Inhumanity to Man” on April 24 — the date in 1915 when the Ottoman predecessors of modern Turkey launched the genocide by rounding up 250 Armenian intellectuals for eventual execution.

The resolution won’t take effect on Tuesday. The Bush administration, ever mindful of its delicate relationship with Turkey (especially with a war in Iraq next door), takes the bill so seriously that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates warned in a joint letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) that it could “harm American troops in the field.” The lobbying has been successful enough that the House has delayed its vote until after this year’s April 24 commemoration. But passage later this year would still be an enormous blow to the White House.”

Hey Gabby, what good is your “line in the sand” if we can’t trust the ‘migra? (nevermind she’s drawing it 26 miles north of the international border)

Border Patrol Boost Raises Concerns
by JACQUES BILLEAUD

ARTESIA, N.M. (AP) – The U.S. Border Patrol’s push to expand the number of agents on the lookout for illegal crossings has some current and former agents worried that the pressure will lead to corner cutting and will jeopardize public safety.

Raising the Border Patrol’s numbers from about 12,000 to 18,000 by the end of 2008 is a key element of President Bush’s plan to improve security along the border, crossed by tens of thousands of illegal immigrants each year.

The sprawling Border Patrol Academy here in southeastern New Mexico recently started launching two 50-student classes each week, compared to one class every two or three weeks before the expansion plan was announced nearly a year ago.

Some critics worry that pressure to meet the hiring goal will lead the agency to admit recruits with integrity problems.

(“That’s a very real fear that a lot of agents have, that they will lower the standards,” said T.J. Bonner, president of a union representing agents. “They have done it before.”

Nearly 5,000 new agents were added in a five-year period that began in 1996. That expansion was criticized for poor screening that let in some agents who were later accused of wrongdoing.

Jim Dorcy, a retired Border Patrol agent who investigated corruption cases as an internal investigator and is a leader in a group of former agents, said he expects more ethical problems to emerge during the latest expansion because the numbers are higher and the deadline is tighter.

“When you’re hiring a lot of people, you can’t properly vet them,” Dorcy said. He also predicted that the agency wouldn’t have enough veteran agents to act as mentors for incoming rookies.

In the six months since the latest expansion began in earnest, no evidence has surfaced of lowered qualifications or of agents with ethical problems, but Bonner said the agency has already taken shortcuts in its training that could affect the quality of agents.

He cited the decision to cut the length of academy training from about 19 weeks to 17 weeks.

Even some supporters of boosting Border Patrol staffing say the agency is trying to hire too many people in too short a time and is at risk of repeating mistakes made during the last big expansion.

Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, whose 26-year career at the Border Patrol included stints as an academy instructor and as a chief agent, said new candidates might not get the same level of scrutiny as they would in years with more realistic hiring goals.

“Instead of maybe asking additional questions that would tell you whether or not there is a good potential for a trainee agent to make it through the academy, you are going to let more through,” said Reyes.

In poorer areas of the city, murder and incarceration have led to a higher ratio of women to men. But in the bombed out lower tip of Manhattan it is the opposite, owing to the male-dominated culture of Wall Street and the astronomical costs of real estate.

I wonder, would a public admission that women make considerably less money than men make Martin a subject of ridicule within his social sphere or is he just massively clueless?
The men who buy studio apartments in Manhattan are just the same sort of man Martin is except that the NYC men make a good deal more money because they have jobs.

Friends of Al Gore have secretly started assembling a campaign team in preparation for the former American vice-president to make a fresh bid for the White House.

Al Gore is third favourite for the Democratic nomination

….

In an interview on Thursday, which touched on the prospects for next year’s presidential election, Mr Clinton commented: “You’ve got the prospect that Vice-President Gore might run.”

The most recent opinion polls show Mr Gore as third favourite to take the Democratic nomination, on about 17 per cent support, only a whisker behind Barack Obama, 45, who is aiming to become the first black US president, and ahead of John Edwards, 53, the senator whose wife was recently diagnosed with cancer.

Vice-President Gore’s allies believe that Hillary Clinton, 59, the frontrunner, is unable to win the presidency. The most recent poll shows a growing number of voters think negatively of her, in contrast to Mr Gore, who enjoys far greater popularity than when he lost the 2000 presidential race despite polling more votes nationally than the eventual winner, George W Bush.

The second aide approached by Vice-President Gore’s allies said: “There is no love lost between Gore and Hillary. They don’t think she can win and they’re probably right. If Gore runs, he’s got a really good chance of getting the nomination. And he has a good chance of pulling off the election, too.”

read the article at NION–one thing I noted that many of the school killers, including Cho, had in common was successful sisters.

I’m in no way knowledegable about Korean culture, but have known several Asian women who have been affected by the phenomena of the greater “value” of the male child.

IIRC-didn’t his parents send Cho back to Korea in the summers so he could retain his language skills–and that he was with strict relatives who would not allow him to watch video games, etc.I thought about that when I read that play of his that displayed the son’s hostility to a stepfather.

On my way to the laundromat I noticed a sign posted about a weekend gunshow at the local fairgrounds. if I had a working car I’d like to drive out to see the tenor of the event in light of the school killings this week. come to think of it, Denver hosted a gun show? NRA convention? after Columbine that was protested, but was still held. Is April “worship the gun” month?

Oh, and given the Oprah talk from last week, some of you might enjoy reading this.

…The genius, as far as the marketability, of Hip Hop is in its competitiveness. Its roots are as much in the dignified aspects of our oral tradition as it is in the tradition of ”the dozens” or “signifying”. In Hip Hop, every emcee is automatically pitted against every other emcee, sort of like characters with super powers in comic books. No one wants to listen to a rapper unless they claim to be the best or the greatest. This sort of braggadocio leads to all sorts of tirades, showdowns, battles, and sometimes even deaths. In all cases, confidence is the ruling card. Because of the competitive stance that all emcees are prone to take, they, like soldiers begin to believe that they can show no sign of vulnerability. Thus, the most popular emcees of our age are often those that claim to be heartless or show no feelings or signs of emotion. The poet, on the other hand, is the one who realizes that their vulnerability is their power. Like you, unafraid to shed tears on countless shows, the poet finds strength in exposing their humanity, their vulnerability, thus making it possible for us to find connection and strength through their work. Many emcees have been poets. But, no, Ms. Winfrey, not all emcees are poets. Many choose gangsterism and business over the emotional terrain through which true artistry will lead. But they are not to blame. I would now like to address your question of leadership… — Saul Williams, originally posted at MySpace

Gunmen in northern Iraq stopped a bus filled with Christians and members of a tiny Kurdish religious sect, separating out the groups and taking 23 of the passengers away to be shot. The executions came on the same day that two suicide car bombers hit a police station in western Baghdad, killing 13. ”

was it Petraeus who also said that the Iraqis will likely have to learn to live with Northern Ireland(of old)like situations?

Or like Palestinians.

george bush: finishing what the 9/11 hijackers started.

in brief overview of california news, arnold schwartzgrabber is painting himself a deep sap green–apparently appeared on Pimp My Ride show with some vehicle powered by steroids and Kennedy nostalgia. ok-so I’m not so clear on the details.

ms_xeno–I bet you love Bruce Goff architecture. And Gehry. I have a friend who I wish would collaborate with an architect.

the paine–I have been roaming around the vagosphere looking for you. you keep your andrewcards close to the chest.

Arnold has spent weeks portraying himself as a green Socialist. More than gag worthy.

Frightening.

You know hwen the man who was part and parcel of the big roll on CA in ’00 and ’01, in an effort to shut our energy down, from Cheney and Rove… is mouthing, lipsynching to the cause of conservation that the whole thing has blown up to just being money making.

An American religious leader who calls himself the ‘Antichrist’ canceled a visit to Guatemala after the Central American country barred him as a security risk, saying he provokes conflict with Roman Catholics and evangelicals.

Puerto-Rican born Jose Luis de Jesus Miranda wears the number 666 tattooed on his arm and claims a following of 2 million people, most in Miami, where he lives, and Colombia. His Growing in Grace church holds a congress every year in different locations in the Americas.”

What kind of world is this when The Antichrist ‘cancels’? Sly and the Family Stone got into lots of trouble for that stuff years back. Would Jesus take a 3-day weekend?

Oh-and, according to most recent research-it’s 661, not 666. The number you have reached is not in service. Please try your call again.

wassup peoples
just checking in
haven’t read the last few threads
been on a bit of a rampage out on the town
summer has arrived in nyc/nj
an old pervert’s heart turns to romance
been thrown out of three bars in the last week or so

I’m gonna link to photos of some badass graffitti I shot in amsterdam and costa rica later on.

Just read the RE effort at an entry at BMT. He is so out of date and ill informed.

I’m not sure what to make of this development, but it doesn’t augur well. Things are getting dangerously out of whack.

Something about this makes me feel like the market is headed for another big adjustment.

i am wiping tears of laughter from my face. A few months ago NYT profiled how certain buildings in Manhattan are having a renaissance of women, single women buying units. Friends buying in the same building, etc… There iirc they mentioned amounts of about 650K and above. Going higher from there….

I think the articles in NYT are just an effort in a sluggish market. Try to get something going…

Or Martin could look at London. Units overlooking Hyde Park are being offered for 170 + million. Per unit.

All fo this reminds me of a couple years ago when The Guardian brought wee Kos to London for a week. And he died at the prices of everything. Even tho he paid for nothing.

Welcome to Plantation America. Where wages [for those who depend from day to day on their wages] are kept low, job security is nil, etc. Often no benefits.

I noticed in the NYT piece that the Cho family had no medical insurance, tho the father worked as a presser from 8 am to 10 pm, until the mother took a job at a school cafeteria in order to have the medical coverage.

“Things are getting so much worse in Iraq,” was the way Salim Hamad, who fled five months ago, summed up life in his former homeland as our interview was ending. “There is a big difference between those who left four years ago and those who left four days ago. Everything in Iraq is based on sectarianism now and there is no protection — neither from the Americans, nor the Iraqi government.”

Fleeing “Freedom and Democracy”

Sa’ad Hussein, who arrived in Damascus only three months ago, described the Baghdad he left as a “city of ghosts” where the black banners of death announcements hang on most streets. There is, he claimed (and this was verified by others we spoke to among the more recent refugees), normally only one hour of electricity a day and no jobs to be found.

also in the Tom preamble there is a longish quote from Hersh about Jamail with a link to an Al Jazeera interview with Sy Hersh (I think, have nto made it to AJ yet… )

*******************

I emailed the paine… and he has some sparkling ideas for SMBIVA… but since they are nascent and involve technology (and I am just black thumbs at that) will let him say something when it is more than a conversation cartoon bubble..;)

I linked to a MyDD … think it was yesterday, of course Stoller was full of apologia but Obama has also glomed onto a big Dem fundraiser, who is in the nursing home biz.. and h is game is to keep (and he has been very successful for years) regulation out of the extremely profitabley nursing home industry.

So cute.

*******************

LINK and I love watching the Edwards v Obama thread. LOL with Adam B in the mix.

So.

At the age of 86, Noam Chomsky remains as active as ever in his work as a world-renowned political dissident and pioneering linguist. He has also opened a new chapter in his life, recently celebrating a one-year anniversary with his new wife, Valeria Wasserman Chomsky, his second marriage. Chomsky discusses the joys of newfound love and why it is a "pri […]

Noam Chomsky weighs in on the Black Lives Matter movement across the United States, calling it a response to the unresolved consequences of slavery and racism dating back hundreds of years. "[Slavery] is a large part of the basis for our wealth and privilege," Chomsky says. "Is there a slave museum in the United States? The first one is just b […]

Following its election in January on a pledge to confront the austerity program that's decimated Greece's economy, the Syriza government has faced a major pushback from international creditors led by Germany. Days after Greece secured a four-month extension to a loan package in exchange for new conditions on its spending, Noam Chomsky says the Euro […]

World-renowned political dissident, linguist and author Noam Chomsky discusses why National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden should be welcomed back to the United States as a hero and why those who authorized the government surveillance he exposed should be on trial, not him. Chomsky also argues that while mass surveillance has been ineffective i […]

The Islamic State might be the best-funded radical Islamist group, perhaps in history, but the coalition air campaign that’s targeting its oil-refining operations and military assets has begun to damage…Click to Continue »

At the annual American-Israel Public Affairs Committee conference, speakers advanced Iran as an existential threat and sought to downplay differences between Israel and the US while demonstrators were arrested outside

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Tuesday the chamber was moving toward debate on a bill that would require President Barack Obama to submit any final nuclear deal with Iran for Congress' approval.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America".

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama's advisers would recommend he veto a Senate resolution to overturn recent National Labor Relations Board reforms if the measure were to reach the White House, his administration said in a statement.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bipartisan talks on a bill to streamline the passage of trade deals through Congress are "stuck" over Democratic demands, the Republican chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance said on Tuesday.

Media

from Howl

I'm with you in Rockland
where we wake up electrified out of the coma
by our own souls' airplanes roaring over the
roof they've come to drop angelic bombs the
hospital illuminates itself imaginary walls collapse
O skinny legions run outside O starry
spangled shock of mercy the eternal war is
here O victory forget your underwear we're free
I'm with you in Rockland
in my dreams you walk dripping from a sea-
journey on the highway across America in tears
to the door of my cottage in the Western night

October 7 1955

"a remarkable collection of angelson one stage reading their poetry"
"I think Allen Ginsberg standing up there reading - putting himself on the line - was one of the two bravest things I've ever seen. Remember, it was '55. People had crew cuts, and they looked at you like you were misplaced cannon fodder. The country was being run by Luce publications. It was a dangerous, cold, ugly time, and it was scary. . .
In all our memories no one had been so outspoken in poetry before. We had gone beyond a point of no return. None of us wanted to go back to the grey, chill, militaristic silence, to the intellectual void - to the land without poetry - to the spiritual drabness. We wanted to make it new and we wanted to invent it and the process of it as we went into it. We wanted voice and we wanted vision."
-Michael McClure

Democrats…

Same as goddam fucking forever.
Over and over, in election year after election year, GE and MidTerms both… the Dems start to purr and preen, they stretch luxuriously - at just being TOLD they are going to win [...]
It never fails.
... in February of 2002, looking over the already joyless congressional stragglers willing to be drafted for duty… they barely dreamed, yet, it was even possible (Howard, a different person then, had not arrived to say it could be done)… but one thing was clear, we could not rely on the party to swing it. Could not. You could smell it, they would screw the deal. And I am not talking about Howard and primary issues here. By the end, that was a passing political story. Chuck it on the heap.
[...]
Upshot? The Republicans make it thru. They hold on.